I am officially an old man (an e-bike convert, years ahead of schedule) Metakoo, Jetson Bolt Pro

[MetroMPG]

Whoops, super delayed response...

Originally Posted by The Toecutter

What kind of Wh/mile figures have you gotten with each of those e-bikes you've ridden?

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't measured it! In the past, I know I would have nerded out on that kind of data.

Also: I absolutely see the appeal of a streamlined tadpole e-trike. But it's not on the radar of future projects right now.

I did end up buying an e-bike, though... next post coming up in a couple of minutes...

[MetroMPG]

It's a brand I've never heard of before - "Metakoo Cybertrack 100". (China makes e-bikes by the billions, so I'm not surprised I've never heard of it.)



I got it used (with 80 km / 50 miles on it) for $900 CAD from a 6'3" guy who bought it online without noticing the frame size in the sales description -- it's WAY too small for his height. It's even slightly too small for me and I'm just 5'10.

Specs..

- 350W rear hub motor
- 375Wh battery
- 1.5-2 hr charging time
- 21 speeds
- 46 lbs
- "30 mile / 50 km" range... whatever that means


Cost...

Original owner paid 1250 CAD after taxes. He could have sent it back, but opted to sell it at a discount rather than go through the hassle of re-boxing, shipping & also paying a restocking fee.

Hassle for him = deal for me!

I specifically chose this bike because it's a "normal" bike with 21 speeds (including a nice, low granny gear) that also has electric assist (both via throttle or pedal-assist).

The key thing is it's usable as a regular bike (though it's portly at 46 lbs). I've ridden several other e-bikes that were either so heavy or awkward that you would be in trouble if you ran it out of charge far from home or in hilly terrain.


Range...

I've owned it since August and have charged it 4 times so far. Even limiting the max. charge level to around 80% and not draining it empty (to extend the life of the battery pack), I'm seeing around 40 miles / 70 km per charge. I almost always pedal when riding - I use the "pedal assist" mode rather than the hand throttle.

Usage...

I already do a lot of errands around town by bike. My justification for an e-bike is it's for the trips where I'm in too much of a hurry or feeling too lazy to take a regular bike. So it's definitely replacing some car trips.

Also it's fun! I've taken it on a couple of longer recreational/sightseeing rides that I wouldn't normally do on my regular bike. EG: my brother needed to borrow a car one very nice day last month, so I threw the bike in the back & drove one out to his place (42 km / 25 mi one way) and then e-biked home.

I was worried it would make me lazy... and that risk is real!

But so far, it hasn't turned out that way. Instead, it's definitely resulted getting MORE exercise instead of sitting on my butt in a car.

Random video review...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQppB96B1ec

[freebeard]

I was worried it would make me lazy... and that risk is real!

According to Dire Straits, sometimes you're the windshield sometimes you're the bug.

I see electric bikes zipping down the bike lane at 25MPH. I think they need a rotating beacon on the top.

[Gasoline Fumes]

I got to try a neighbor's e-bike recently. So much fun! I have some motors and a lot of dying Insight batteries....

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I see electric bikes zipping down the bike lane at 25MPH. I think they need a rotating beacon on the top.

When I was shopping this summer, the used bikes at good prices were being snapped up pretty quick.


This bike was up for sale longer than most, and one reason I think I snagged it is because the owner mistakenly advertised the bike having a top speed of 20 km/h. But it's a US-market bike, and the speedo reads in MPH. Maybe he didn't know that. So vmax is actually 32 km/h, which is Ontario's max e-bike speed (and many states, I think).


Fumes: I always imagined I'd build an e-bike (or aero e-trike like Toecutter's). Life got in the way! Maybe later. Do it!

[The Toecutter]

So the 375 Wh pack gets 40 miles range at 20 mph with light pedaling. That is testament to just how inefficient upright bikes are. I was getting roughly the same economy at 35 mph when the shell was still on my corovelo.

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Fumes: I always imagined I'd build an e-bike (or aero e-trike like Toecutter's). Life got in the way! Maybe later. Do it!

Do an e-trike! You won't regret it. You can get surprisingly great range for not much money in batteries.

[MetroMPG]

It's not QUITE as bad as it seems - I'm only using about 60-70% of the pack capacity (trying to avoid charging past 80%, discharging below 20%).

Of course a trike would be more fun and efficient.

35-ish years ago I dreamed of making one. Sketched these...






Thread: I was an aero/HPV/velomobile nerd way back when... (found some old drawings of mine)

[The Toecutter]

The red and white tadpole has its wheels too far forward to be viable because it will end up very tippy in the corners due to the center of mass being so far back. You'd have to space the front wheels greatly further apart. This would also have the advantage of moving the wheel turbulence generated away from the body shell, allowing you to have laminar flow along the body instead of constant turbulence from the wheels disrupting the flow along the body. A greatly wider front track on this would significantly reduce drag. Although if you have a bicycle drivetrain in the vehicle, moving the wheels more toward the middle of the trike would probably be necessary anyway, because you will need room for your toes to clear while pedaling, and you don't want steering components in the way, which would then make the vehicle less prone to tipping.

The blue and white delta is more viable of the two, but I'd recommend fairing the front so that the front wheel isn't exposed, finding a way to seal the sides, and then fair the rear wheels, all of which are simple ways to cut drag.

You should definitely build one. You won't regret it. It will become your daily and you will look forward to using it every time the occasion arises. I speak from experience on this. Feel free to ask me any questions if you need any advice or help. Don't put this off, because by not having such a thing, you're really missing out.

[redpoint5]

That extra 3rd wheels takes all enjoyment away from 2 or less. Might as well have 18 wheels at that point.

[MetroMPG]

Just over a year later, I've put about 750 km on the "Metakoo" mountain e-bike. I added a rear basket, fenders, lights and a bell.

It does exactly what I want it to do. 99% reliable & useful.

The only bug I've encountered is sometimes right after charging, it will randomly power itself off -- just once -- while underway. Hard on/off via the battery pack switch fixes that.

I'd say 80% of its use replaced short car trips (errands).

---

BUT... it may have just met its replacement. I just bought the Mitsubishi Mirage of e-bikes!




I picked this up for $100 at a local thrift/overstock store. It's a 1 year-old "Jetson Bolt Pro".

New, these things go for around $425 CAD or $300 USD (plus tax) at Costco. The store I got it from buys warranty returns from Costco and re-sells the working & easily fixed ones for about $225. The rest go "as-is" for $100 to guys like me.

I rolled the dice, threw down my C-note, and it turned out the problem was just a broken wire to the throttle control! (This is actually the 2nd one I've bought. The first one only had a broken power switch.)

The 36 volt / 6 Ah battery is quite a bit smaller than the mountain e-bike I got last year. And the factory range specs are pretty optimistic:






So far, I've only ridden it about 75 km / ~45 miles.

Pros:

• It's silly fun to ride - short wheelbase & wheels make it hilariously steerable/chuckable, yet it still feels stable at max speed.
• It's small enough to easily carry inside / put in the back of a car
• Takes up much less room in the garage
• Surprisingly solid-feeling (100% rattle-free ride)
• It has a "cruise control" button on the throttle, so you can dial in whatever amount of assist you want, then hit the button, making for infinite assist levels vs. the 5 pre-programmed levels of assist on the Metakoo
• very bright, built-in 36v headlight

Cons:

• The pedal-assist function is too aggressive (adds way more power than I want for a given crank speed), so I disabled it (unplugged the cadence sensor). I just use the throttle & cruise control button - thus also saving energy.
• Not very light for its size: 41 lbs (steel frame) vs 46 lbs mountain bike (aluminum)
• If the battery ever dies, it's not a very good bike (short crank arms are my main complaint)

I've been using it regularly for errands and am surprised how useful & enjoyable it is. Yes, it's compromised, but it's about 80% as useful as the bigger bike ... for about 12% of the price!

I'm seriously considering keeping this wee bike and selling the Metakoo.